


Casey vs. the Family Tree or Jayne Meets the Parents

by GoddessofBirth



Category: Chuck (TV), Firefly
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Compliant for Firefly/Serenity, Canon Divergent for Chuck from the middle of season 3, Casey probably says a lot of uncouth GOP type things, Developing Relationship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Episode: s04e20 Evidence of Things Not Seen, F/M, Family Relationships - Freeform, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, I love Devon but not in this story, Kitchen Sex, Ladies being BAMF together, Past Abuse, Past Sexual Abuse, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Time Travel, Violence, Whump, and the time/space continuum, because I like BAMF ladies, playing fast and lose with the laws of physics
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-09
Updated: 2013-12-23
Packaged: 2018-01-04 02:53:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1075683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoddessofBirth/pseuds/GoddessofBirth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A desperate gambit sends River and Jayne back in time to 21st Burbank, California.  When they seek out Chuck Bartowski, the one man River believes can help send them home, they encounter complications that could change the entire course of the future.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is an older story I'm moving over, so it's entirely done. Just a matter of getting the chapters put up.
> 
> This story deals with two different couples working on forming relationships, one of which includes a person who is recovering from a betrayal of a spouse and who will go on to find out pretty much every person in her life has been lying to her. I am not a fan of nonsensical coupling, which means that sometimes action will take a backseat to character development and conversation. AND this is an ensemble piece, therefore, some chapters may feature a good mix of all characters, while other may focus more on two or so.
> 
> This story goes AU in that Devon and Ellie never go to Africa, so Ellie is not working with the Ring Agent. And you will see that I play fast and loose with the timeline of “The History of the 'Verse.”
> 
> You may or may not recognize that I have taken certain liberties with the geography of the Angeles Forest and it's proximity to Burbank specifically. Also, I know little to nothing about Quantum physics, wormholes and the space/time continuum. I just made that crap up.

 

Ellie stared down at the documents in her hand and shook her head. It all seemed so surreal. Two months and one day ago, her life had been normal and comfortable. Comforting. She and Devon were enjoying married life, Chuck had finally, _finally_ left the nest, it looked like he and Sarah were moving past whatever weird problems that had plagued their relationship since day one, and even Morgan had moved up in the world.

 

Then two months ago her world had come crashing down in the middle of Sunday dinner when the ringing doorbell had signaled the beginning of the end of her marriage. It had come courtesy of Jenni, one of Devon's 'extreme sports' buddies, telling Ellie things no married woman should ever have to hear about her husband. And it had all gone down in front of the spellbound audience of Chuck, Sarah, Morgan, and most humiliating of all, the coworker/casual acquaintance/neighbor John Casey.

 

And now, here she was, holding copies of notarized divorce papers in her hand and musing on how quickly life could change. A sound in the courtyard caught her attention and she glanced out the window to see John hovering in the entrance way. She jumped up and grabbed his pie plate from last Sunday's dinner and opened the door to return it to him.

 

Her greeting froze in her throat. The man was John...but he wasn't. He was carefully scanning the courtyard, which she had seen John do numerous times (although she still thought it was strange behavior for an appliance salesman.) He was wearing a black T-Shirt and brown cargo pants, which was also not unusual for John to do. But he was sort of dirty...and he had a goatee. It was true she hadn't seen John in a couple of days, but she didn't _think_ facial hair grew that fast.

 

And then there were the guns. She had never, ever seen John with a firearm, and this John had one in his hand, plus one strapped on his chest that she was sure couldn't be legal in Montana, much less California. She wasn't sure, but she thought he might have one on his hip and thigh as well.

 

She suddenly realized he was starring at her. His lip curled up in a smirk and she had the unnerving feeling that he was undressing her with his eyes.

 

'J..John?'

 

'Yeah?' he answered, only his voice wasn't coming from in front of her, but beside her. She whipped her head around and saw _John?_ backing out of his door, dressed in his Buy More green, his familiar backpack slug over his shoulder.

 

Then everything went to hell. John turned and saw the man at the courtyard entrance (John2?). Faster almost than Ellie could see, he pulled a gun from the back of his pants and had it pointed at John2. But as fast as he was, the John clone was faster and already had the gun in his hand trained on Buy More John plus another gun he had pulled from God knows where aimed at Ellie. She froze.

 

For a tense moment, nobody moved and Ellie was pretty sure she hadn't breathed. Then John2 suddenly bellowed.

 

'Moonbrain, get your crazy _pi gu_ in here!'

 

From the shadows behind the man - Ellie really couldn't decide what to call him, other than disturbing - a tiny girl in a blue dress and combat boots slipped into view. Her long brown hair hung down, partially obscuring her face. The man scowled, never taking his eyes off his targets.

'What the _gorram_ hell is going on here?'

 

The girl looked up at John and Ellie, smiled and clapped her hands. 'The progenitors are home! The games may begin.'


	2. Getting There

 

 

 

Jayne was bored. He counted the tiles in the shuttle ceiling. He counted the number of switches on the console. He calculated the amount of his cut. And then he started all over again.

 

'Your thinking is exceedingly loud today. Quiet, please.'

 

He glanced over at Crazy sitting next to him in the pilot's seat and grimaced.

 

'Ain't like I can control the volume of my brain, girl. Why don't you just go and concentrate on somethin' else.'

 

She sighed and spun in her chair.

 

'There is nothing to distract me. Bored.'

 

'Ain't that the truth. How much longer we gotta sit here?'

 

They were orbiting Athene, the outermost planet in the system, and they had been there for four _gorram_ hours waitin' on the wave from Mal to let them know it was okay to land with the payload. Stuck in a shuttle with nothing but a pack of cards and a crazy girl for entertainment. Playin' cards with River was alright for a little while, but she almost always won, what between her reader ability and her card countin' ability. Fun when they were sharkin' a table of locals, not so fun when she was winnin' his chore services.

 

Crazy flipped her hair over her shoulder and a whiff of her shampoo hit his nose. It smelled like coconuts and girl and he noted, not for the first time, that it was a nice combination.

 

'Uncertain. There have been...complications.'

 

Jayne snorted. Weren't there just always. Seems like the only plans that ever went well were the ones Mal _didn't_ plan, and yet he seemed to feel the need to throw one in there once in a while, just to prove he was still the captain. Apparently part of being captain was to get shot every now and then. 

 

He was about to ask River if she wanted to play another game of Egyptian Rat Screw when he saw her stiffen and her eyes widen into that look that just screamed to him 'Crazy fit comin', hide the knives and the soup.' She hadn't had one of them in a long while, and just his luck, he got to be the one stuck in a small space with her when she did.

 

He looked around for something to defend himself with should the fit go the knife route as opposed to the soup one, but before he could settle on any one thing, the girl relaxed her posture minutely and let out a stream of curse words in Mandarin. He was impressed – he didn't know she had it in her, and he filed away a few of them for future use.

 

In half a second she was typing frantically at the nav screen, pulling up star charts and calculating trajectories.

 

'River?' He was concerned enough at this point to let slide his own personal goal of never sayin' her name if he could help it. She spoke without looking up.

 

'Mal has picked a singularly bad day to commit crime.' Then she ducked under the console, pulled off a face plate and began rewiring something or the other.

 

'What the hell do you mean?'

 

River didn't pause in her task. Jayne would not like it, nor would he like the solution. But, she was sure he would like the alternative outcome even less.

 

It was only seconds later that she popped back up and quickly pointed to a star on the nav screen.

 

'Ranger Century 2 star, closest star to Athene outside of galaxy. Some light years ago experienced a solar burst. Energy is just now reaching galaxy proximity – distance has rendered it ineffectual to harming planetoid life. Different story for small shuttles in orbit.'

 

' _Gorramit_ , girl, in normal person words!'

 

'We will fry and plummet like stones off a bridge. Chances of survival non-existent.'

 

She watched Jayne twitch as he absorbed what she was saying. She liked that about him. Even in the face of certain death he was solid.

 

'What the hell are you waitin' on, Crazy? Get our asses back on the planet!' He quickly strapped himself into the shuttle seat.

 

'No time. Wave burst will arrive in approximately 90 seconds. However, the girl has a plan. By rewiring shuttle for short optimal speed and adding in launching capabilities of Athene's gravitational pull, there is the possibility of using the burst's energy to -'

 

Jayne put his hand over her mouth.

 

'Less talkin', more plan implementin', _dong ma_?'

 

She removed his hand. 'Jayne,' she wanted him to understand. 'We will be _very_ far from home.'

 

'Yeah, well, we'll be very far from dead, too, right? Just do it.'

 

She nodded and engaged the thrusters. In milliseconds the shuttle was cruising along it's orbit at a speed that was patently unsafe. It began to shake uncontrollably and it was taking all of her strength to hold it on course. She knew her muscles would give out soon.

 

'Jayne! Grab the controls and hold course.'

 

He instantly reached for the co-pilots wheel and switched it on. The muscles in his arms rippled and strained from the effort of holding the shuttle steady. If they hadn't been seconds from disintegrating from atmo stress, she might have taken time to admire them.

 

And then there it was, the solar wave bearing down on them like a golden Valkyrie promising eternal oblivion. She waited until it was almost on top of them.

 

'Two half clicks to the left NOW, Jayne!'

 

And then they were gone.

 

_\- Everything around Jayne was black and silent. There was no shuttle, there was no space, there was no girl. He was in nothingness and he couldn't say with any certainty if there was even a him. He would be scared, if there was any feeling, but there wasn't any room for that, either, in this empty place. He hung there, in absentia, for what could have been seconds or hours, days or weeks, years or millenniums -_

 

\- And then he was screaming, they both were, as the shuttle flipped and catapulted wildly end over end. River was struggling with the controls and he added his own strength to her efforts to bring the small ship steady. Slowly, too slowly for the last meal Jayne had eaten, the careening began to lessen and then suddenly stopped. They floated gently, caught in orbit.

 

Jayne closed his eyes and waited on his stomach to quit sloshin' 'round. He chanced a deep breath and looked over at the girl. She was staring, transfixed, out of the starshield of the shuttle. He turned his head and saw the view filled with a middle sized planet, all blue and white and brown. He didn't recognize it, but then space geography wasn't exactly his strong suit, bein' as it didn't involve blowin' anything up.

 

'So? Where are we?'

 

River didn't look at him. She reached her hand out, laid it flat against the glass and spoke in a dreamy voice.

 

'Earth-that-was.'

 

* * * * * * * * * * * *

 

River was worried. She should be alarmed about any number of things: the fuel levels in the shuttle, the fact that their successful passage through the space-time rip had destroyed any long range capabilities of the ship, even the fact that while she knew _where_ they were, she had no idea _when_. And while all of these things were dancing around in the back of her sliced and reconfigured brain, they were not what was concerning her most.

 

It had been 20 minutes and 36 seconds since she had told Jayne their location and he had yet to speak. He just sat, staring down at a cigar stub, flipping it idly between his thumb and forefinger. She understood loud Jayne, angry Jayne, even violent Jayne, but silent Jayne was not a good Jayne. Silent Jayne was an unpredictable Jayne. He was spiking red, oozing anger and disbelief from every orifice, but he would.not.talk. She needed him to speak, to get the inevitable confrontation over with so that she could concentrate on a plan.

 

'Jayne?' His hand stilled and he looked up at her.

 

'When?'

 

'What?'

 

'I said, _When, feng le._ Planet ain't dead, and I at least know enough a history to know Earth-That-Was was ruttin' black as hell 'fore it was abandoned. So, I'll ask ya one more time – _when?_ ' His voice had been steadily rising as he spoke; by the time he was done he was roaring.

 

River relaxed. This was territory she knew.

 

'I don't know.' Jayne narrowed his eyes dangerously.

 

'Come again?'

 

She sighed and placed her hand on the console.

 

'Don't. Know. The girl did not have enough time. Only time to calculate theoretical destination, not -'

 

Jayne stood up violently, interrupting her.

 

'The'retical? _The'retical?_ As in, ain't been done before? As in, ain't got no clue whether we'd actu'lly end up here, at the ass end a space, or even in one piece?' He kicked the copilot's chair, setting it spinning wildly.

 

River jumped to her feet as well, hands resting on her hips.

 

'Yes, theoretical – rending time/space continuum is not something the girl does on a regular basis.' She poked her finger into Jayne's chest.

 

'However, she assumed man with a girl's name would think _chance_ of obliteration a better option than _definite_ obliteration. She did warn him. Perhaps Apeman should be glad the girl is a genius, or boy would be toast!'

 

Jayne plopped back into his chair, deflated. He really hated it when the girl was right. He was keen on self preservation, and possibly dead was always preferable to certainly dead.

 

It was just that this was not how he'd seen his day goin' when he'd been sittin' over the protein mush that Simon passed off as breakfast that mornin'. He'd had it all planned out: get the job over with, hopefully with nobody but Mal gettin' shot, then maybe talk Crazy into helpin' him make a run on a pool table and finally, when he was flush with somebody else's cash, head off to get some trim at one of Athene's many fine whorehouses. It'd been a shiny agenda.

 

Instead, he'd narrowly missed gettin' burnt to a crisp by a ruttin' ray a sunshine gone homicidal, then went hurlin' through God knows what to end up who knows when with only the moonbrain for company.

 

Although, he supposed it could be worse. He could be here with Simon, who he'd kill within minutes, or with Mal, who'd get _him_ killed in about the same amount of time. Crazy, at least, weren't bad company now that they'd gotten the knifin' and the sellin' out a their systems.

 

The girl could fight like hell – them fightin' back to back usually ended up with the two of 'em bein' the only ones left standin'. She was always good at scamin' people out of money, and when it weren't directed at him, she was _gorram_ funny.

 

Yep, now that he thought about it, the situation could be loads worse. He just hoped the 'when' of the situation involved some women populatin' the planet. He wasn't lookin' forward to livin' like a shepherd the rest of his life, and he wasn't interested in sexin' River.

 

Nope, not interested in any way, shape or form.

 

'So,' he asked hopefully. 'Any chance of gettin' back?'

 

River looked apologetic. 'Improbable. Only enough fuel to make it to planet's surface and maybe one return trip. Still have nav control and star mapping capabilities, but-' and she gestured to the control panel that was sparking and smoking. '-all long range capabilities used up getting here. It is doubtful we would be able to repair it. Besides, we would need another astronomical event to create appropriate circumstances. As previously stated – improbable.'

 

' _Wu dong_ _._ So, you got a plan?'

 

'Not yet, there are too many moths and they fly in every direction. I cannot find the butterfly.'

 

Since they'd started workin' together, Jayne'd gotten fairly good at unravelin' her meanin' when she slipped into usin' symbols and metaphors, but he wasn't graspin' this.

 

'Try again, Girl.'

 

She leaned her head back and closed her eyes. 'There are infinite paths. If we follow the moths, Very Bad Things can happen. I must find the butterfly.'

 

Okay, he was pretty sure he was gettin' her drift, but just to be certain...

 

'Once more.'

 

Her eyes flashed open and glared at him.

 

'The future is not set. We are out of place, and one wrong step could end in self obliteration. Clear enough?'

 

He nodded sharply and headed to the back of the shuttle. They'd worked together long enough for him to trust her in this area. He started gatherin' up his weapons and packin' up what little supplies they had to pass the time.

 

River watched the moths swarm and disperse and then swarm again. They'd first appeared when she'd made the decision to circumvent her and Jayne's deaths, but in her hurry she hadn't had a chance to wonder what they meant. Now they flew in dizzying paths, slicing up the future and laying paths to new ones. So many options all begging for her to follow, but she knew that somewhere in there was _Danaus plexippus_. She just had to find it.

 

She let her awareness expand past her own body. It slide past Jayne, working quietly behind her. He was doing what was necessary for their physical survival, she trusted him explicitly to do that. She left him behind and pushed out to the Black, billowing through the moths, swatting them out of the way.

 

A flash caught her eye. There is was, it's little wings beating desperately, flitting this way and that to avoid being eaten by the carnivorous _Acherontia atropos_. She watched until it fluttered out of sight and then snapped upright, her mind returned to it's rightful place.

 

'Jayne!' He was at her side in an instant.

 

She hit a button and the semi defunct cortex flashed up the shuttle's topographical scan of the planet. She pointed to a small area adjacent to a large body of blue.

 

'Here.'

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

As the shuttle burned through atmo, Jayne was relieved to see cities that didn't look too different from some he'd seen on Core planets. As grateful as he was to still be livin', livin' would probably be nicer if it weren't alongside some kinda dinosaur _go se._ He was pretty damn sure they were a whole lot more fun in plastic than in person.

 

It was late when River set them down in a small clearing in a forest. Jayne approved on account of it providin' more than adequate cover for the ship. He loaded up, grateful that due to him not listenin' to Mal 'bout the grenades anymore he had six to stick on his belt and that he'd decided to take Vera with 'em. He put on his jacket and zipped it up, coverin' his girls as much as possible.

 

'Where next, Moony?'

 

'I need a cortex, so...people please?'

 

River watched as Jayne paced around the clearing. He sniffed the air and then broke off a twig and stuck it in his mouth. Still chewing, he bent down and examined the ground for a long moment.

 

'This way.' He strode off, not waiting to see if she was following. She rolled her eyes and shouldered her pack. Some days she really did want to kill him with her brain.

 

They walked in silence. Jayne occasionally stopped to sniff the air or look at the ground, always making minute changes in direction afterward. The sun eventually sank and they began relying on the moon to travel. River munched a protein bar and watched Jayne's back. When he was like this, absolutely in his element, he was a panther, long and lean, all muscles and stealth.

 

She concentrated on him, ignoring the the fact that in the back of her mind, waiting to be studied at a later date, were all of the implications of this trip and the reality of permanent separation from her brother and the only family that claimed her. Adrenaline and the need for a safe place held her steady, but eventually they would have to be faced.

 

Then she knew they were getting close. The voices started up, one by one until suddenly they were crowding her head, thousands of them, suddenly there, screaming and yelling and she couldn't tell where they were and where she was. Her eyes rolled up in her head and she stumbled backwards, slumping against a tree.

 

The trees were startin' to thin out and Jayne hollered back to River.

 

'Hey, Crazy, think we're comin' up on somethin'!'

 

She didn't answer, so he stopped and turned. 'Moony! Did you hear – _Made!'_

 

In two strides he was in front of her, crouching low.

 

'Girl, you there?' Absentmindedly he reached a hand to the back of her neck and rubbed his fingers in circles, tryin' to relax the tension. Girl had soft skin.

 

She stared back at him, eyes wide and unseeing. _Go se_.

 

'River, last thing we need is for you to go woolly right now.'

 

She finally spoke, her voice a whine.

 

'There are so many, and they're loud and so angry! Why are they all angry, Jayne? Can't think, can't focus. Please, Jayne?' Her eyes were pleading.

 

He cursed. They'd discovered it by accident, on a job one day where she'd gotten overwhelmed and sent her mind in a thousand directions lookin' for refuge. Found he had what she'd called 'a room' in the back of his mind, all empty and quiet where she could go and make the voices stop. He hated her there with a passion, hated the idea she was walkin' around in his thoughts, but it was better than her goin' buggy, so he let her in from time to time.

 

'Fine. Just...don't go touchin' nothin'.'

 

He sat down on the other side of the tree, restin' his arms on his knees. He let his head drop and closed his eyes. Then he felt the tell tale shiver up his neck and knew she was in.

 

River sighed as the voices dropped off one by one. She knew Jayne suspected she thought him having this empty place was indicative of his stupidity, but in reality it proved he was very, very smart, keeping a place nobody could touch. He was obviously uncomfortable with her presence here, yet he almost always gave her permission when she asked. Jayne was not always as hard as he thought he was. She began to regroup.

 

They sat that way, in silence for an hour or so, Jayne relaxed but alert to anything that might signal trouble. Then his neck shivered and he knew she was out. He stood up and walked back to her.

 

'Ready?'

 

She opened her eyes and stood. 'Thank you, Jayne.'

 

He grunted and walked away. After a minute she followed.

 

Fifty yards later the forest ended and they stood at the edge of a road. Situated across from it was a shopping complex with ten or so large stores. Jayne could sense the night was ending, and with it their best cover, so he urged River across the street and the parking lots.

 

She wandered from store to store, staring through the windows. She touched one.

 

'Look, Jayne, real glass!' Looking closer she smiled.

 

'Cortex!' She backed up and read the name. _Buy More_. Well, that wasn't exactly subtle.

 

They stole to the back of the store to the service door. After examining the door for a minute, Jayne drew back his leg and kicked it in. River quickly pulled her LeMat and shot out the two security cameras. In the time it had taken her to disable the surveillance Jayne had found and started disabling the alarm. A few seconds later he stood and they slid into the store.

 

River stood in front of the antique cortex and switched it on. After taking a few minutes to figure out the touch based interface she grinned and set to work hacking.

 

Jayne passed the time wondering down the aisles of the store. He ran his hands over familiar, yet weirdly exotic appliances. _Washing machine, dryers, microwave, television._ He was just heading over to a section labeled 'Adult Entertainment' when he heard River make an odd strangled noise.

 

River stared at the cortex screen. She had been overly excited when she'd seen the date. The possibility of she and Jayne returning to _Serenity_ had just risen sharply. Within seconds she'd made her way through the U.S. Government's firewalls - security was really _poor_ in this time period - and was skimming through file after file, hoping to find the piece of information that would get them home.

 

There was nothing. She slumped, discouraged. Then a file in the NSA database labeled 'Burbank, Intersect' caught her eye and she felt the faint brush of butterfly wings against her cheek. She clicked.

 

_Interesting._ As usual, governments of every time period couldn't resist tinkering with people's heads. She felt a sense of kinship with the subject of the file, Bartowski, Charles. He, too had been ripped from an ordinary life and thrown into dangerous circumstances. If anyone could help her and Jayne find what they needed, he could.

 

She read further. Bartowski, Charles, was being guarded by CIA agent Walker, Sarah and NSA agent Casey, John, Colonel. The moths started beating around her head again and she swatted them away. Something was tickling the back of her head, where all of the information the Alliance had 'gifted' her with was stored. She clicked on the picture of Walker, Sarah. A cute blond popped up. Jayne would like her. Then she clicked on the picture of Casey, John, Colonel.

 

__Ta shi suoyou diyu de biaozi de ma._ _ _The tickling became scratching and rending and her brain was being ripped apart and pieces were being reordered and brought to conscious knowledge and she was suddenly glad that the Alliance was both obsessive about keeping records of it's citizens' origins and that they had shoved the records of those with warrants into her brain. She could barely see the butterfly through the maddening moths, but she knew instinctively that she had to wade through them to get back home. A line from an ancient cortex movie drifted through her mind. '_ __Of all the gin joints in all the world...'_ _

 

She heard Jayne approaching and closed the picture of Casey, John, Colonel. 

 

'Problem, Girl?' 

 

She smiled brightly. 'Solution! Probability of return trip has increased.' 

 

'Date indicates the first cryogenic equipped spacecraft will be in theoretical design stage. If the girl can find blueprints, she may be able to complete the equation and all will fly home.' She pointed to the picture of Bartowski, Charles. 

 

'Boy may know where plans are located.' 

 

Jayne looked at the picture. Hmm. Boy looked as sissified as Simon. Government should know better than to trust sensitive information to pansy boys like that. Bet he wouldn't even get far enough to cut an ear off this one either. 

 

'The girl's plan was to just ask first.' 

 

Well, he could always hope the kid said no. But, the idea of gettin' home was awful shiny. He wondered if he could get River to use the cortex to find out where the nearest whorehouse was located. 

 

River caught the tail end of his thoughts. 

 

'Apologies, man named Jayne. Prostitution is illegal in almost all of country we are located in.' 

 

The hell? Who would make honest work illegal? 

 

'U.S. Government of time period is obsessively concerned with legislating morality.' 

 

Then the _feng-le_ girl told him they didn't let sly people get married. Now, he was about as far from sly as you could get, but he knew good and well you didn't take away basic civil rights 'cause of who you loved. And people thought he was born in a backwater town. The sooner they got home, the better. 

 

'Where do we find 'im?' 

 

River pulled up a map of the area. 

 

'Bartowski, Charles is approximately a mile west.' 

 

'Fabulous. Get it in gear.' 

 

This time River led, and by the time they made it to the address from the cortex, the sun had fully risen in the sky. 

 

The building reminded River of pictures she had seen of ancient Roman ruins. She stood at the gate for a moment admiring the view. 

 

'Best get to it, Moony. People are gonna be movin' round soon and I'm thinkin' we don't exactly blend in. I'll get the landscape. Watch the gate.' 

 

As Jayne moved into the courtyard, River drew the LeMat from it's holster on her thigh and held it loosely pointed down. She bent and picked up a small pebble and amused herself by bouncing it up and down in her free hand. Only a few seconds passed and she felt one and then two minds join Jayne. 

 

_5...4...3...2...1._

 

'Moony! Get your crazy _pi gu_ in here!' 

 

Sighing, River holstered her gun and entered the courtyard. 


	3. From Left Field

 

Casey watched Ellie Bartowski-Woodcomb through the surveillance feed. He had been paying more attention to the Intersect's sister since the whole debacle with Captain 'apparently-not-so-awesome- since-you-were-stupid-enough-to-cheat-on-the-American-dream.' What a dumb fuck.

 

When he had made the decision to let Alex Coburn die and be reborn as John Casey, he had pretty much let aspirations to a wife, kids, and white picket fences die with the Coburn name. Any lingering hopes he might have held onto disappeared after the whole Ilsa mess. The government was a cruel mistress and didn't leave room for a personal life. But if he were someone else and could have that choice, he would have chosen someone like Eleanor Faye Bartowski (Woodcomb).

 

In some ways she reminded him of Kathleen. Kathleen had been a caregiver, too. She had effortlessly mothered her younger siblings as well as half of the neighborhood. That was how Alex had met her, when she was babysitting his younger sister. He'd watched her with Bobbi and seen in an instant the mother she could be. And he'd been right. Casey squeezed his eyes shut in an effort to block out the mental picture of the daughter he'd never known and never would. He couldn't think about that now.

 

After a minute he opened his eyes and went back to watching the surveillance screen. Ellie was studying a packet of papers which he'd bet his baby bonsai were her divorce papers. Yes, in some ways Ellie reminded him of Kathleen, but in other ways she was totally different. She was stronger, for one. When Jenni had shown up at Sunday supper, Ellie hadn't cried or railed or become hysterical. She'd stood there, in the middle of the storm and been buffeted but not knocked down. Sure, she'd cried after everyone had left, Casey had watched her unravel through the screen, but in public she'd shown a quiet resolve that he could respect.

 

And she hadn't been interested in any excuses or attempts from Devon to fix things. As soon as he'd confirmed the woman's story, she'd made him pack a bag and shown him the door. Casey had been prepared to help him out of it, but Devon must have seen the same resolve Casey had, because he'd left without a fight. The next day Ellie had taken a week vacation from the hospital and left, not returning until every piece of Devon had disappeared from the condo. She contacted an attorney, filed paperwork, and moved on. She only cried at night.

 

Casey never told Chuck about Ellie's night time grieving. He wasn't sure why he kept it a secret, except that it _was_ private, her private way of dealing with yet another abandonment by someone she had loved and trusted. But he kept watch, a sort of voyeuristic protector, ready to step in and call Chuck if she ever stopped dealing. He hoped she'd never find out about her brother's duplicity, because he was afraid that would be the thing that would finally break her.

 

The one silver lining of all of this was that with Devon no longer being attached to the Bartowski clan, there was no need for one more civilian wandering around knowing about the Intersect. Devon didn't know it yet, but as soon as his divorce was final, he was going to be taking up residence in a nice, secure underground facility, courtesy of the U.S. Government. And John was going to ask for the privilege of taking him there personally.

 

A movement on the screen drew his attention. Ellie had gotten up and grabbed his pie plate. Guessing she was on her way to return it, he grabbed his rucksack and headed to the door. He was already dressed for his shift at the Hell More, so he could intercept her before she encroached on his privacy. He might admire her, but the last thing he wanted was her imprint in his home.

 

He had just opened his door when he heard Ellie stutter his name. It sounded wrong. She sounded _scared._ He lifted the back of his shirt and rested his hand on his gun.

 

'Yeah?' he turned his head and saw her staring fixedly at something across the courtyard. When he spoke her head whipped toward him and her expression went from mildly scared to confusedly petrified. When he saw what she'd been looking at, he didn't even think, he just acted. He pulled the gun from it's hiding place and flipped his back to the door, taking aim at...himself?

 

Casey was...disturbed. It was like looking into a fun house mirror, seeing himself reflected back, but weirdly distorted. No, he decided, it was like looking at his cover from that black ops job he had pulled in Nicaragua when he'd been deeply embedded in a leftist guerrilla group. The man, who had his own weapon pointed at Casey, was a picture of mercenary gone wrong, right down to the insolent slouch and smirk, badass wanna be facial hair and obscene T-Shirt. And he was wearing Casey's face. That pissed him off, that someone with that attitude was walking around wearing his face. Worse though, was that he had managed to get a second gun trained on Ellie. Casey felt a twisting in his gut and mentally willed her not to move as he went through his options.

 

First, he put aside the conundrum of the man's face. That didn't have any bearing on the immediate situation, so it could be dealt with later, preferably after the man had a bullet through said face. The man may have seemed undisciplined, but Casey had been trained to see through facades. The man was highly skilled, perfectly aware, and probably easily capable of taking out both Casey and the Intersect's sister. He was loaded with a number of guns, several of which would be making Casey drool in a different situation. Casey guessed that the two of them would be evenly matched in a gun battle, which made engaging him in that manner too risky with Ellie in the equation.

 

He needed a distraction. The neighbor in condo 'C' was due to walk his dog anytime now. If he could keep the situation from escalating until the door opened, he had a chance of getting Ellie out of the way and clearing up the playing field. Suddenly the man bellowed out.

 

'Moony, get your crazy _pi gu_ in here!'

 

_Mandarin?_ Commie bastard. Leave it to the Chinese to make a mockery of America by sending out an agent that looked like a bum. Casey watched warily as a tiny woman dressed like a bag lady came to stand by the man. Great, two bums.

 

The bum with his face (and he was getting more and more pissed about that as time passed) made a face but didn't drop either his gun or his gaze.

 

'What the _gorram_ hell is goin' on here?'

 

The woman looked up and stared first at him and then at Ellie. She smiled and clapped her hands.

 

'The progenitors are home! Excellent! We may begin.'

 

_Wonderful._ The Chinese spy came with his own personal nutjob. No wonder the commies lost the war.

 

The woman narrowed her eyes at him.

 

'The girl may be slightly insane, but that does not make her wrong. And at least she knows her true name.'

 

What. The. Hell. Had he spoken out loud? The girl grinned widely, baring her teeth.

 

He glanced at Ellie and was proud to see that even this hadn't forced her into hysterics. He could see it in her eyes, though, that she was holding onto her composure by the skin of her teeth. He took a gamble. 'Ellie, I want you to come over here behind me.' If he could just get her out of the way...

 

Ellie looked at him, looked at the gun in his hand and then looked over to the walking arsenal by the door. On one hand, she wasn't sure what to think of John Casey with a gun in his hand, a gun that he looked _very_ at home with. On the other hand, she was pretty sure she wasn't going to be getting any protection from the pair at the courtyard entrance, and she was fast approaching the limits of her ability to stay calm. She slowly started to slide towards John.

 

The disturbing man cocked the gun aimed at her head. 'Uh, uh, sweetheart. Think you'd better just stay put.'

 

Sweetheart? _Sweetheart?_ Ellie glared at him, her fear momentarily forgotten. _Pig._

 

The girl laughed and nodded. _Okay, that was weird._ But, then the whole morning had become a theater of the absurd. The girl put her hand on the not John's arm and smiled at Ellie.

 

'Apologies for early morning assault. Was not intentional.' She turned her attention to the pig man.

 

'Let her return to the Father. She is Simon, she will not cause harm. Besides, future needs to move inside before further paradox are formed.' Ellie's brain was tying itself in knots trying to figure out what the girl meant.

 

The pig man sighed disgustedly. 'You sure, Crazy?'

 

'Don't be a boob, Jayne.'

 

Casey snorted. Jayne? The commie-slob was named _Jayne?_ Again, no wonder the commies lost the war, giving men moronic names like that.

 

Jayne's eyes narrowed to slits and he tightened his trigger finger. The girl gripped his arm tighter.

 

'No killing, Jayne, unless you want your ending before your beginning.' Casey was starting to wonder why the man with the weapons was deferring to a woman that was clearly unhinged.

 

'How 'bout a nice leg wound? Ain't nobody gonna die from a leg wound, else Mal woulda been dead long time ago.'

 

The woman stamped her foot. 'Inside. _Now!_ '

 

The man – Jayne – rolled his eyes at the woman. 'Fine, Moony.' He turned his attention back to Casey and Ellie.

 

'Here's how it's gonna go, _dong ma?_ You-' He gestured to Casey. '-put the gun on the ground. And you -' This time he lifted the gun pointed at Ellie. '-walk over to him nice and slow. Then we're all gonna go inside and have a nice sitdown.'

 

Casey carefully set his gun on the ground and straighted up. He watched as Ellie inched toward him. He reached his right hand slowly behind him. His door was still slightly opened, and he thought he could reach the backup piece taped under the entry table. As soon as Ellie was behind him -

 

The girl sighed, exasperated.

 

'Stubbornness is obviously hereditary. She does not wish Jayne's ending so soon after his beginning, either.'

 

Before Casey had a chance to wonder what she meant, she had launched something from her hand and he felt a stinging pain on his right temple. He crumpled to the patio and right before he lost consciousness he had the thought that perhaps he had trained his gun on the wrong half of the duo.


	4. Secrets Pt 1

 

Jayne waited as Crazy skipped over to the brunette, grabbed her hand, and pulled her into the open door of the condo. Then he holstered his guns, walked over to the fallen man, and dragged him through the door by his feet. He just barely resisted the urge to kick him in the face. _His_ face.

 

He'd bet his last credit that River thought he hadn't understood her little announcement earlier, on account a her usin' big words, but by some random oddness he actually knew what 'progenitor' meant. And seein' as how the __Qing-wah cao de liu mang_ was lookin' a bit more like him than Simon, he was guessin' that meant these two were swingin' somewhere on the bottom branches of his family tree._

 

The brunette he didn't mind so much, although he felt a bit sick in the stomach when he thought on how he'd been imaginin' what she'd look like underneath him. 'Ole Johnny Boy, though, just screamed 'Fed,' and it was ruttin' embarrassin' havin' a lawman in the family tree. He and Crazy were havin' a talk just as soon as all this got settled. 

 

He gave the unconscious man one last glare, then pulled the pack off of his back and headed to the couch to see what lawmen on Earth-That-Was carried around with 'em 

 

When the tiny woman finally let go of her hand, Ellie stood inside the door and tried to pinpoint exactly when she had crossed over into the Twilight Zone. 

 

If she was being honest, she couldn't put the time at the events of this morning, or even at the revelation of Devon's affair. The truth was that she had been ignoring strange and nonsensical events for quite some time. Things that had started a few years back. Events that had begun...when John Casey moved in.

 

Ellie shook her head. She was being paranoid. John had done nothing that would make him other than the friendly, if stiff, overly polite, delectable quiche wielding neighbor he appeared to be. Owning a gun...wasn't...a... Her thoughts trailed off as she got her first look at the inside of John Casey's apartment.

 

Military maps decorated the walls. Maps of Burbank, California, the USA, _everywhere._ There was a flat screen TV mounted on the wall – nothing abnormal there, but in front of it was some kind of console? Control panel? God, she didn't even know the right words to use! But what sent the blood rushing to her head were the three laptop computers sitting open on a table in the middle of the room. One displayed a view of the courtyard and each of the other two were split in four sections, displaying differing shots of things that look vaguely familiar.

 

She look closer and then her breathing staggered. _Oh my God!_ She realized the two screens were showing camera shots of her home...and Chuck and Sarah's. Who was he? How long had he been watching them? And _why?_ She could feel a full on freak out approaching. Her eyes flashed back to John, still lying unconscious on the floor. She felt her training push to the forefront, calming her, momentarily crowding out her confusion.

 

Relieved, she turned to the girl still at her side.

 

'Um..I'm sorry, I'm not sure what to call you. It's...Moony?' The girl laughed.

 

'No. Moony is nickname of... _affection_.' She smirked and Ellie heard a snort from across the room.

 

The girl stuck out her hand. 'River.'

 

Ellie just stared at her hand. After a second the girl lowered it.

 

'I'm a medical doctor. Can I please check John?'

 

River's face wrinkled in confusion and then cleared almost immediately.

 

'Comprehension. You ask permission because you believe we are here to hurt you. She has already said this is not so.'

 

Ellie raised her eyebrows.

 

'No offense, but pointing guns at people is pretty much the universal symbol of 'we're here to do bad things to you.'

 

River waved her hand in the air dismissively.

 

'Jayne wears guns like women wear jewelry. Would not have armed them if other alpha had not presented.' Ellie stared at her blankly.

 

River sighed and gathered her thoughts. 'The man with the Casey mask drew first. Jayne and the girl came for help.'

 

'From John?'

 

River shook her head. 'No, he is just the gate.' She looked irritated. 'A gate I had hoped to sneak around, but for which I must now find the key.'

 

As Ellie watched, the girl's face suddenly crumpled into sadness and Ellie realized how young she must be. She was probably little more than a teenager.

 

'The girl just wants to go home.' After a second, the sadness lifted and River smiled at Ellie.

 

'My brother is a trauma surgeon. I understand. Healing the man will give you control in an uncontrollable situation. Please.' She urged Ellie forward.

 

Ellie crouched by John's head. Maybe after she had examined him, River would allow her to check her as well. There was something very off in her speech patterns.

 

River touched her arm.

 

'Do not worry. The girl is not ill.'

 

_Oh-kay._ That on top of River's nod in the courtyard was moving beyond weird. It was almost like -. 

 

Ellie stopped that train of thought dead. Chuck was the scifi junkie, not her.

 

She brushed John's hair back from his temple to get a closer look at his wound, absently noting that this was the closest she'd probably been to him. He looked peaceful, the strong lines of his face relaxed. His hair was almost soft and she started a second later when she realized she'd been unconsciously rubbing a bit of it between her thumb and forefinger.

 

She examined a bruise on his temple, which was rapidly darkening into a deep purple. She ran her hands over his head and neck. He had a bump on the back of his head from where he'd hit the ground, but she didn't find anything that would indicate further swelling or the likelihood of long lasting damage. She pulled back his eyelids and noted they were dilating normally. When he came to, he'd need to be watched for a concussion, but all in all he seemed to be fine. Ellie sat back on her heels.

 

'What did you do to him?'

 

River looked smug. 'David and Goliath.'

 

Ellie was rapidly deciding that confusion was her default emotion around the girl. 'What?'

 

Jayne answered for her. 'She knocked him out with a ruttin' stone.' 

 

River turned a grin on Jayne and then her eyes widened.

 

'Jayne Cobb! It is _very_ impolite to fondle another man's ladies without his permission!'

 

Ellie spun her head around so fast she suspected she might have given herself whiplash. And then she froze, all of the panic she had successfully pushed to the back of her mind rising to the surface. She watched as Jayne pulled gun after gun out of John's backpack.

 

'Whatever, Girl. To the victors go the spoils, _dong ma_?

 

'Then, technically, _I_ am the victor. Hands off, please.'

 

'What about the grenades?' He slipped several egg shaped objects from the pack.

 

'No!'

 

'Comm units?' Ellie saw him set bits and pieces of unidentifiable electronics on the table.

 

'Jayne! Must the girl remind you that we are here for assistance? Man with the Casey mask will be much less likely to assist if you steal his treasure!'

 

Jayne's reply was muffled by the backpack as he continued to riffle through it's contents.

 

Ellie concentrated on her breathing. In and out. In and out. She couldn't have been so wrong about John. She was a good judge of character. Maybe he wasn't an appliance salesman, but he wasn't a...a...' _stalker?_ ' her mind helpfully supplied. _'Serial killer_?' It added in for good measure. _'After all, you were wrong about Devon, too._ '

 

River grabbed her hand and spoke forcefully. 'John Casey is a good man. He will need you to believe this.'

 

River was aware she had come close to royally humping all of them with her outburst in the courtyard. One of the joys of one's brain being an unfinished science experiment was the occasional tendency for the filter between it and her mouth to disappear. Usually it caused no harm, either because what she said was of no consequence or because no one understood her anyway, but she was painfully aware that a wrong step here could be catastrophic. She had just been so _pleased_ to see some part of Jayne's makeup, even if it was a distant part. Luckily, the man and the woman didn't seem to have heard her, and she felt sure Jayne wouldn't know a progenitor from a processor.

 

She looked at Ellie and Casey. Whatever these two would eventually be to each other, it was clear they were nowhere near it now. The bonds between them were light, barely more than that of casual acquaintances. Those from the man to the woman were stronger, pieces of yarn, but from the woman to the man there lay only the thinnest of spider webs.

 

It was obvious that Ellie knew nothing of the Casey-man's true occupation, and therefore was ignorant of her brother's mental alterations. River feared that the revelation of these secrets without the existence of stronger connections would neatly shear what little binding was in place. 

 

And those secrets would be revealed, every path River saw confirmed that. River stared at the two fat moths perched on Ellie and Casey's heads, wings flapping lazily. She was unsure how to proceed.

 

'Aw, hell, I was right.' Jayne's voice broke into River's thoughts and startled the moths, causing them to take flight.

 

'Catch, Moony.' She reached up her hand and neatly caught the object, glanced at it briefly and handed it over to Ellie.

 

As soon as River's eyes were turned, Jayne reached out and slid a sweet little piece from the table into the back of his pants. She looked like a Constance. He stood up and paced around the room, touching, sniffing and occasionally tasting various odds and ends. Eventually he found his way into the kitchen.

 

Ellie stared down at the ID and Badge. Colonel John Casey, NSA.

 

'See?' River smiled beside her. 'White side of the line.'

 

'But what's he doing here? Why is he watching us?'

 

River hesitated before answering. 'The girl feels that it would be better if the man with the Casey mask were awake to answer Ellie's questions.'

 

Ellie eyed River. 'Why do you call him that?'

 

Again, Ellie watched as River paused before speaking. 'He is Casey, but not. He wears John Casey like armor to protect the boy. I request that you direct further inquiries to the man, please.'

 

Ellie nodded.

 

'So...' She looked around the condo. 'What now?'

 

'What now is eatin'.' Jayne's voice came from the kitchen.

 

'Get in here, Moony. Yer skinny ass can't handle losin' any more weight and I know you ain't had no more'n a protein bar since yesterday mornin'.'

 

Jayne stared into the refrigerator. He hadn't seen this much fresh food since he'd left for the Black. Apples, pears, green, leafy _go se,_ eggs, milk, and meat. Actual, real, came from an animal not from a plant, meat. Jayne thought he might have started droolin' when he heard River come up behind 'em.

 

She crouched down so that she was situated beneath him in the space between the door and the shelves. She looked up at him slyly.

 

'Jayne has been naughty.' She grabbed an apple and stood up. She reached around him and pressed her hand briefly to the gun at his back and cocked an eyebrow.

 

He smirked back at her. 'Yeah, well, I'll say I'm sorry later.'

 

She dropped her hand and started to dance away. He reached out and grabbed her arm, halting her.

 

'Uh, uh, Crazy. Apple ain't enough. Sit.' He gestured to a chair at the bar. 

 

As Jayne pulled eggs and bacon out of the refrigerator he wondered briefly why he cared if the girl ate or not. She was perfectly capable of takin' care of herself (hello – reavers!); if she wanted to eat an apple and starve later, far be it from him to interfere. But a part of him knew that regardless of the messes _Serenity_ had been in, and even with her bein' in that academy, she'd never really been in a situation where she was cut off from all she knew, not knowin' when or if she'd eat next. 'Fore _Serenity,_ he'd been there more times than he cared to think on, and he knew, even if River didn't yet, that she was gonna be needin' him for more than his spectacular muscles and killin' abilities this time out.

 

Then he remembered the brunette who'd been freakin' out over some _ge se_ or the other and decided Shepard's special hell probably included those who didn't offer to feed their ancestors. He looked up from crackin' eggs and saw she was still crouched over Gramps.

 

'Hey! Bruny!' He waited 'til she looked at him.

 

'You eatin'?'

 

Ellie looked at the door and then at the pair in the kitchen. What would they do if she did what she really wanted to: walk out that door and climb back into bed, where she could pretend this had all been a really, really, really bad dream? Despite how hard River had been trying to put her at ease, she had a feeling that her leaving wasn't in the plan. She sighed and walked over to sit at the breakfast bar by River. She knew she should probably be more concerned about what River and Jayne's intentions were than with John, but they still seemed so unreal, where as John was solidly a part of her everyday world.

 

She watched with a mix of horror and amusement as Jayne rifled through John's kitchen, opening cupboards and drawers. He continued until almost every cabinet stood open, utensils and dishes littering the counters, the formerly spotless room now resembling a war zone.

 

She spoke to River in a low voice. 'He cooks?'

 

River smiled. 'Best cook on _Serenity._ Brother Simon is the worst.'

 

'Simon? He's the trauma surgeon, right? Where does he practice?'

 

River smiled blandly. 'He has a small list of private clients.'

 

_Ah_ , Ellie thought, _one of those._ Doctor to the rich and famous, California was full of them. She'd often wondered why Devon hadn't gone that route. He'd been talented enough.

 

'Is Serenity the place you're from?' Although the way she'd said 'on' Serenity made it sound like a boat or a plane. Surely they didn't live on a ship?

 

River nodded. 'She is very far away, though, and we cannot reach her without help.' She turned to watch Jayne, effectively ending the conversation.

 

They sat in silence as Jayne cooked. It took him a few minutes to figure out how to work the gas stove, eventually enlisting River's assistance. Later, after swallowing a mouthful of egg (River was right, Jayne cooked well), Ellie gestured to Jayne with her fork.

 

'So, what's the deal with John and Jayne? Are they related? Is that how you knew to come here for help?'

 

Jayne stopped what he was doing and turned to face them. He leaned against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest, a pose Ellie had seen John adopt more than once. He stared intently at River.

 

River shrugged. 'Doubtful. Human genome has finite combinations. Everyone has dopplegangers.'

 

River felt a brief flash of emotion from Jayne – disappointment? Hurt? She couldn't quantify it before Jayne buried it. He dropped a plate of bacon on the table and walked out of the room. Ellie grabbed a slice and broke off a piece.

 

'Is he okay?'

 

'His behavior is within normal parameters.'

 

Ellie put the bacon down. 'Okay, seriously, what's the deal with your speech? You say you're not sick, but you slip into third person, throw out metaphors left and right, and frankly, half the time don't make any sense. I don't want to pry, but have you seen a specialist?'

 

River looked down at the bar and traced an invisible line. Her hair hung over her face, muffling her words.

 

'The girl has had much brain trauma.'

 

Ellie felt like a jerk. 'Oh, God, I'm sorry. Was there an accident?'

 

River looked up with a tight smile, her eyes hard. 'It wasn't an accident.'

 

Then Ellie's eyes widened. It was the only warning River had before an arm closed around her throat and she felt cold metal pressed against her temple.

 

'Now,' Casey's voice was hard in her ear. 'You're going to tell me who you are, where you're from and what you're after, or I'm going to put a bullet through that little scrambled head of yours.'

 

And as his arm tightened around her neck, he sneered, ' _ **Dong. Ma?**_ _'_


	5. Secrets Pt 2

 

Jayne Cobb was havin' a _zheng qi de gou-shi dui_ couple of days _._ Not the worst he'd ever had, that was reserved for days involvin' reavers. And probably not in second place, either – that little talk with Mal involvin' the airlock was firmly situated in that spot. But possibly third. Yep, he decided, this little journey definitely fit nicely in the number three slot.

 

He prowled down the hall, peerin' into doors. One was obviously the head, but it wasn't like any shower room he'd ever seen. For one thing, it was about three times the size of his bunk on _Serenity_. For another, it actually had a big 'ole soakin' tub separate from the shower. He realized how long it'd been since he'd bathed and he hoped sometime in this whole little venture he'd get a chance to check out the plumbin'.

 

The second room was fairly bare, except for a clock and a bedroll on the floor, so he guessed that was where gramps was sleepin'. Although why any man would want a picture of some old _hun dan_ in a suit watchin' him sleep was beyond him. It was slightly creepifying.

 

He stepped out of the room, agitation simmerin'.

 

The girl was hidin' things, and it was pissin' him off somethin' fierce. They couldn't afford a shoutin' match now, so he paced the hall, strugglin' to contain his temper before he did somethin' stupid. He was just reachin' the far end of the hall when he got that little itch in his spine that had kept him alive more times than he could count. He headed back to the common room.

 

Trapped in the past, desperately needing sleep and being kept by River from shooting anybody (which would have improved his mood exponentially), Jayne was quickly reaching his breaking point. So when he walked back into the room and saw the Fed breaking a rule he didn't even know he'd had (Don't Touch The Crazy Girl – Especially While Holdin' Guns), Jayne Cobb snapped.

 

Grabbing the first thing he saw – some weird ass mini tree thing – he flung it at Johnny-Boy's head. Casey threw up his arm in time to deflect the blow, but dropping his hold cost him River. She ducked away and behind Ellie.

 

Casey looked down at his bonsai scattered across the floor and back at Jayne and growled. He bent low and rushed him, catching him in the abdomen and driving him back into the wall. Jayne brought his elbow down on Casey's back and raising his leg planted his foot into Casey's middle and shoved him. 

 

Casey stumbled back a couple of steps and Jayne stepped forward, catching him across the face with a right hook. Casey absorbed the blow, barely flinching and tackled Jayne. Both men fell to the floor, taking the coffee table with them. Casey landed on Jayne and slammed his fist into his jaw. Jayne's head snapped back and Casey raised his fist again. Before he could bring it back down, Jayne head butted him and flipped them over.

 

Ellie watched in horrified fascination as the men fought, neither seeming to gain the advantage. And then River slipped from behind Ellie and entered the fray. She moved around the men, dancing. It took Ellie a minute to realize what she was doing. As she spun and swayed, she was collecting the guns and knives littering the room, even managing at one point to dip low and pull a gun from the back of Jayne's pants. 

 

She made a final pass, grabbing John's backpack right before the men rolled into the table, knocking it down. She returned to Ellie by way of the front entrance, her hand disappearing briefly under the entry way table and reappearing holding a small gun. She balanced it precariously on top of the unbelievably huge weapon Jayne had been wearing when Ellie had first seen him. When she reached Ellie, she dumped her haul on the breakfast bar, successfully having removed any deadly items from the reach of the brawling men.

 

River stood beside Ellie and leaned back, resting her elbows on the breakfast bar. Ellie looked at her uncertainly.

 

'Don't you think we should try to stop them?'

 

River was baffled. She had removed all instruments of death. True, Jayne still had a number of knives strapped to his person, but he couldn't reach them in such close quarters. She did not understand Ellie's concern.

 

'She does not understand. Jayne will be much more pleasant after the physical altercation and Casey will be prepared for unpleasant conversation.'

 

Ellie watched the men. They had made it back to their feet and Jayne attempted another swing at John. John ducked and the momentum caused Jayne to lurch forward, barely avoiding falling onto the table holding the computers. John brought both fists down onto Jayne's back and he slipped back down to his knees. Before John could take advantage of his fallen state, Jayne suddenly surged up and threw John against the wall, causing a picture – the Secretary of Defense? - to crash to the floor.

 

'Are you saying fighting makes Jayne _ _happy__ _?'_

 

River shrugged. 'You heal to feel in control. Jayne fights. Best way to return him to a good mood.'

 

River tilted her head and considered. 'That, or fornication.'

 

Ellie looked between River and Jayne, who was currently trying to choke John – no wait, now John was choking Jayne. It looked like they were losing some steam, though. 

 

Was it possible River and Jayne were - ? She looked a lot younger than him, but there was something...

 

'Are you and Jayne -' She waved her hand in the air, unable to decide how best to word the question.

 

River laughed and shook her head. 'Jayne is too afraid of knives, and the girl would find it very disheartening to be sold off by lover.'

 

Ellie was sure she was missing some pertinent pieces of the story.

 

River watched the men as they circled each other sluggishly. Ridiculous assumption! She and Jayne were compatible partners in crime, and she suspected they had at some point crossed over into friendship. But lovers? Elle's equation was full of irrational numbers.

 

She gave a small smattering of applause as Jayne dodged Casey's blow. He would have to be faster than that to best her Jayne. 

 

They were grappling more than fighting now, exhaustion taking its toll. A second later, Jayne had Casey in a headlock and staggered back toward the couch. Casey drove his fist into Jayne's kidneys and both men dropped to their knees and then fell apart, ending up on their backs just feet from each other. They lay there, unmoving, gasping for breath. 

 

River pushed herself up off the bar.

 

'The clocks are unwound.' She turned to Ellie.

 

'Ice, please?'

 

As Ellie headed over to John's freezer she wondered if she should be worried that she understood what River had said.

 

River walked over to stand between the two men. Both were wearing split lips, but otherwise seemed little worse for wear. The tension that had been riding Jayne since they jumped had receded and instead he emanated a warm glow of lazy relaxation. She wondered what his room would feel like in this mood.

 

She felt Ellie come up behind her and reached out her hand to accept the ice pack Ellie offered her.

 

'Men have now sufficiently proved manliness. Must accept shared alpha position so conversation can begin.

 

She placed her hands on her hips and looked down at Casey.

 

'The man did not need to employ his guns. Should have asked nicely. Scared the girl. Scared __Ellie.__ _'_ Her stern look made it clear she considered this the greater trespass. Casey glared back, but as Ellie offered him in ice pack he looked pained and murmured a quiet apology.

 

He slowly climbed to his feet and sat at one end of the couch, keeping a wary eye on River and Jayne. Ellie sat on the opposite end.

 

River's face softened into a smile as she knelt by Jayne. He was very good in pinched situations. She pressed the ice pack to his lip.

 

'She greatly appreciates his gallant rescue.' The side of Jayne's mouth not covered by the icepack turned up in acknowledgment of her praise.

 

'But - ' her voice turned scolding. 'Should say sorry for deforestation. Tree was important. Showed Casey he could grow as well as rend.'

 

Jayne scowled and yanked the ice pack from her hand, but didn't protest when she grabbed his arm and helped him to his feet. She guided him to a chair that sat the farthest from Casey and then dropped to sit at his feet. She needed her body solidly grounded for the conversation that must follow.

 

Casey continued to glare at her, ready for the promised explanations. Ellie's stare was gentler, but she was obviously waiting as well.

 

River closed her eyes. To gain Casey's aid she would need to be concise and to the point. She would need to sound sane. Best to rip the weave off all at once. She ordered her pronouns to behave and opened her mouth.

 

'We need to speak with the cortex.' There. Short, concise and to the point. She waited, but only silence answered her.

 

She opened her eyes. Casey stared at her blankly. Ellie had a wrinkle of confusion between her eyebrows. Perhaps they had not heard? She raised her voice.

 

'The cortex, please.' No response. What was she doing wrong? She had been clear. She had said please. Should she explain further?

 

From where River was leanin' against his leg, Jayne could feel the frustration rollin' off her in waves. He could tell she was workin' real hard at bein' clear and not gettin' all loopy in her talk which was a challenge for her. He also knew from experience that she was about to launch into further explanation, which, with River had the potential to just make things more confusin'.

 

He'd like to help her, but for one thing, he wasn't particularly talented at the talkin' part of peaceful negotiations, and for the other thing, he thought she'd actually made pretty good sense. For River Tam.

 

Then he had a thought. He nudged River with his leg.

 

'Hey. Moony.' She glanced up at him

 

'They didn't call them cortex at that store. They called 'em computers.'

 

A brilliant smile spread across the girl's face. Jayne blinked and looked away. He caught a startled expression crossing gramps' face.

 

The minute the word 'computer' had come out of the mouth of the commie-slob with a girl's name and a Casey face, Casey got a bad, bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. It only intensified when the tiny woman nodded.

 

'Yes, we need to speak with the computer.'

 

Not. Good. He needed to get Ellie out of here now.

 

'Computer, huh? Well, that shouldn't be a problem. Ellie, why don't you go grab your laptop for them?' 

 

She gave him an odd look, probably wondering why he wanted another computer when he was surrounded by them. He didn't care. He needed her to go. He knew his cover was blown, but he could at least protect Bartowski's and Walker's. 

 

'No, the human computer.'

 

He had to get the girl to shut up. He tensed to stand, but Jayne caught his motion and snarled low in his direction. And the girl just kept running her mouth.

 

'The brother.' She gestured to Ellie. No, no, no. He opened his mouth but River spoke over him.

 

'Her brother. Charles.' Then River's eyes brightened and she crowed triumphantly.

 

'The Intersect!'

 

Oh, sweet underwear of St. Francis. He was pretty sure this pooch was screwed, but he threw one last Hail Mary.

 

'Ellie, aren't you scheduled for a shift at the hospital?' Ouch. That sounded pathetic, even to his own ears.

 

'What?' she looked at him like he'd lost it. 'No! What does this have to do with Chuck? Why do you need his help? What's this about a computer? He works with computers, he isn't one!'

 

Casey dug deep, looking for something, anything to salvage the situation.

 

'Ellie - ' 

 

Jayne, tired of the verbal games, cut him off.

 

'Bruny, you think Johnny boy here is watchin' your brother for kicks?' He looked at Casey, considering. 

 

'Well, I 'spose he could be, but I'd guess more it's 'cause he's protectin' his employer's interests. Government's shoved a whole mess a information in your brother's head, and we happen to need some of it _, _dong ma__ _?'_

 

Casey should have shot him when he had the chance.

 

River smiled sympathetically at Ellie.

 

'Apologies, Ellie. Brother is a mediocre spy with supercomputer in his brain.' River smiled and tapped her temple. 'Somewhat like the girl.'

 

Casey's shock momentarily overrode his good sense.

 

'Are you telling me you have the Inter-'

 

'John?' He froze and looked at Ellie. She was staring at him like she'd never seen him before.

 

'She's telling the truth? _Chuck_ is a spy? A spy with some sort of computer in his head? My brother? The same brother who works for the Nerd Herd? The brother who _just_ managed to move out on his own? The brother who has completed his 17th Star Wars marathon? No! That...that's crazy! It doesn't make any sense!'

 

But he could see in her eyes that it did. That she was suddenly putting together all of the pieces of the last three years, all of Chuck's odd behavior, weird explanations and unexplained absences combined with Casey's occupation and surveillance equipment. And it was adding up to a horrible conclusion in her head.

 

'Ellie – You weren't ever supposed to know. Chuck -'

 

She stood up.

 

'You know what? I think I'm just going to go home. You don't need me here – obviously I won't worry about calling the police - ' she looked at Casey, '- since the cavalry is already here.'

 

She started walking towards the door. Casey sighed inwardly and stood up. They were rapidly moving to the top of his list of Things John Casey Never Wanted to Do to Eleanor Faye Bartowski.

 

'I'm sorry, Ellie, I can't let you do that.'

 

She stopped. 'Excuse me?'

 

'I can't let you leave.'

 

She spun around to face him, righteous indignation burning on her face.

 

'The last time I checked, John, I was an adult, perfectly capable of making my own decisions. And frankly, I don't remember asking you permission.'

 

Casey moved around the couch, putting himself closer to her. He rubbed his hand over his face.

 

'Ellie, your brother and the information he holds are quite possibly the most closely guarded secret the U.S. Government has. You have now become a threat to that secret.'

 

Ellie looked at him in disbelief. 'You're kidding, right? You actually think I would knowingly do something to endanger Chuck?'

 

'Knowingly? Of course not. But can you promise not to talk under torture? If someone were to take you, do you think Chuck would hesitate to offer himself in exchange? There are factions, people - ' Casey turned around to glare at River and Jayne. '- who would do anything to get to Chuck.'

 

Ellie shook her head.

 

'Chuck's been a - a spy for what, three years? I've been walking around, perfectly safe, all that time. If no one's come after me yet, why would they now?'

 

And they just kept inching up his list.

 

'It's not true that you've been safe, Eleanor. Do you remember, right after Sarah and Chuck started dating, the four of you went for Sushi and you ended up assisting in the emergency care of a man who later died?' Ellie nodded.

 

'And afterward, you got very sick and were hospitalized? You weren't sick, Ellie, you'd been poisoned. You almost died before we could get an antidote for you.'

 

Ellie's legs gave out and she slid to the floor. Casey pushed on, relentless. She had to understand the stakes.

 

'And the Christmas Eve when everyone in the Buy More was taken hostage? Ned and the Hostage negotiator were enemy agents sent to find Chuck. You were two seconds away from Ned putting a bullet in your head. Chuck told them he was the Intersect to save your life and Agent Walker executed one of them to make sure that secret never got out.'

 

Ellie's face had paled to the point where Casey was worried she would pass out, but he kept talking.

 

'Your wedding disaster? Double agents of a group called - ' Ellie cut him off.

 

'Stop. Just stop. I get it, okay?' She buried her face in her hands.

 

'Ellie, our entire team has worked very hard to keep your family alive and out of this mess the entire time we've been here, and this was all when you had no knowledge of Chuck's abilities. Now that you know – until I've been able to talk with Chuck and Agent Walker and we've had a chance to discuss it with our superiors, I can't let another civilian wander around Burbank knowing about the Intersect.'

 

Through the rushing noise in Ellie's head, which she assumed was her carefully ordered reality crumbling to pieces, her mind latched onto one word.

 

'Another? What other...what was the word you used? Civilian. What other civilian knew about Chuck?'

 

_And,_ right to the top. John didn't answer her. He just stared steadily down at her and suddenly everything clicked.

 

'Oh my God. Did I even know him at all? That's why he was always making excuses for Chuck, pushing us to take random vacations, acting like he was hiding something. It was because he was.'

 

She paused.

 

'You don't have a drinking problem, do you?'

 

_What?_ He and Devon were going to have a talk.

 

He crouched down until he was at her level. He was, once again, struck by her strength. With all that he was taking away from her, he could at least give her this.

 

'You should know, Ellie, no matter what else Devon may have done, he did not want to keep this secret from you. He wanted to tell you from the start, but we didn't give him a choice. We were trying to avoid this exact situation. Chuck - ' He reached out to place a hand on her shoulder but she stopped his motion, pushing her hands out toward him, palms out in what he recognized as a defensive gesture.

 

'Please. Just...don't.' She pushed herself up until she was standing. John stood as well, careful to keep his distance, but also making sure he was between her and the door. Ellie gave a humorless laugh.

 

'Down, boy. I'm not going anywhere.' She moved into the kitchen, putting the breakfast bar between her and the other three people in the room.

 

As River watched Ellie and Casey, she was forced to admit to herself that there were things she simply did not understand about the practical nature of relationships. Judging from the conversation the two of them were having, the thin bonds between them should have been snapping apart like violin strings tuned too tightly. And yet, oddly, the converse was occurring.

 

As they spoke, the cords between Ellie and Casey strengthened visibly. His, again, more than hers, the yarn thickening into a rope, but even the gossamer spider web of Ellie's connection was growing, becoming a sewing thread, and then a length of twine. River did not understand it. Jayne was far more experienced in man/woman dealings. Perhaps she would ask him later.

 

As the thought left her head, Jayne snorted and leaned over to whisper in her ear. 'That there's a man who's in a lot a _go se._

 

Then again, perhaps not. She stood and kicked Jayne in the ankle. Ignoring his yelp, she crossed the room to Ellie and cautiously laid her hand on Ellie's balled up fist.

 

'We offer sincere apologies for your hurt. Would not have inflicted it if we had other options.'

 

'What exactly is it that you want from my brother?'

 

For the second time that morning, River took Ellie's hand. She pulled her out of the kitchen and back to the couch. When she sat down, River curled up next to her. After a minute, Casey moved from his post by the door and took up his original position on the couch. Jayne remained seated, eyes alert for any threat from Casey.

 

River took a deep breath and prepared for negotiations.

 

 

 

 


End file.
